Apparatus for cleaning fruit such as berries and the like



Jan. 29, 1963 w. A. NELSON 3,075,214 APPARATUS FOR CLEANING FRUIT sucnAS BERRIES AND THE LIKE Filed June 20, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WILFORD 'A.NELSON IN VEN TOR.

w. NELSON APPARATUS FOR CLEANING FRUIT SUCH AS BERRIES AND THE LIKE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 20, 1960 WILFORD A. NELSON IN VEN TOR.

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This invention relates to apparatus for cleaning frozen tripe berries ofvarious types.

It is one of the principal objects of the invention to provide a novelconstruction into which quantities ofv berries are fed at one end andautomatically subjected to a first stage of vibratory, gyratory, andoscillatory motion, then rolling and tumbling motion in acontinuousstream of air and finally to a second or last stage of.

the motions mentioned as they approach and leave the discharge end ofthe apparatus.

By means of this invention, it is now possible to thoroughly cleanvoluminous quantities of berries in a. days run and to deal with eachberry in such a manner. without damage as to ensure effective cleaningresults to the berries themselves, all as is highly desired.

The common existing practice in the industry is to wash berries by meansof a fluid as the berries are passed through a tank or the like. Suchsystems all have cerrain common and obvious objections in that in orderto operate them a cleaning fluid must be employed which is liable to doirreparable harm to the berries being cleaned. Accordingly, I havedevised a novel apparatus whereby these difficulties and objections areovercome. I accomplish this by the provision of apparatus which obviatesthe necessity for employing a fluid in the first instance and relyentirely upon the cleaning action of an air stream at high velocityflowing through, over, and around the berries in their uninterruptedpassage through the apparatus in vibratory, gyratory rolling andtumbling motion.

Although my invention will be described hereinwith particular referenceto a berry cleaner, it will be readily understood that its utility andapplication extend beyond the particular type of cleaner hereinspecified and comprehends the useful and novel features set forth whenapplied to any produce which is susceptible to a cleaning operationwhere dirt, dust, or the like is desired to beremoved therefrom as theproduce is conveyed throughthe various stages of the motions abovereferredto without material alteration to the structural, features ofthe invention.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details companying drawings forminga part hereof, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of apparatus made in accordance withmy invention with fragmentsv broken away for convenience of theillustration.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of. FIGURE 1. FIGURE 3 is a sectional endelevational view taken approximately along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary detail view on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 5 is an end elevational view of a fixedly mounted cylinder andits relationship to a conveyor.

With continuing reference to the drawings, wherein like referencecharacters designate like parts, reference numeral 1 indicates generallya framework comprising elongated parallel base members 2 interconnectedat their ends and provided with corner posts 3 and 4 and intermediateposts 5 and 6. To the top end of these posts 36 are secured two parallelbeams 7 and 8. The corner posts 3 are interconnected by cross membersIt} and 11 atent and to the cross member 11 is secured one end of astationary cylinder 13 partially closed at its forward end by asemicircular plate 14 to provide a similar opening 15 and closed at itsrearward end by a circular wall 16.

This rearward wall is provided with an opening 17 by.

means of which the interior of the cylinder 13 is in communicationthrough a duct 18 with a blower fan :19, and also provided with a secondopening 20 to provideto and entirely encircling the cylinder 23 near thefor ward and rearward ends thereof. The cylinder, 13 is provided withsuitable openings 30' and 31 for passage of the belts 24 and 25therethrough. Apertures 32 arev also provided in the bottom peripheralwall of the cylinder near the rearward end thereof for a purpose whichwill become apparent as the description proceeds.

Co-operating with the belts 24 and 25 for stabilizing the cylinder 23 inits rotationabout its longitudinal axiswithin the cylinder 13, and formaintaining proper tension on the belts are respectively two pairs ofrollers 34 and 35 operating respectively in the other side 37 and 38 ofthe annular channel track members 28 and 29. Each roller as bestillustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4 is carriedby the inner end of a shaft 40laterally adjustable within a slide bearing 41 and lockable thereto inadjusted positions by a set screw 42. The bearings 41 are secured toangle brackets 44 mounted upon supporting rails 46 secured at their endsto the corner posts 3 and intermediate posts 4.

The shaft 48 to which the driving pulleys 26 and 27 are secured isoperatively coupled as at 49-50 to a speed reducer 51 driven by a belt52 entrained over the driving pulley of a motor 53 mounted upon a rail54 secured at its ends to the posts 5 and 6. The blower fan 19 is drivenby a belt 56 entrained over the driving pulley of a motor 57 supportedwithin the frame 1.

, The endless belt of the conveyor 21 to which buckets 60 areconventionally bottom ends over rollers secured with sprocketwheels 62of a speed reducer 66 in turn driven by a belt- 67 en-- trained over itsdriven pulley 68 andover one of two driving pulleys 70 of' a motor 71also mounted within the framework 1. The conveyor is supported withinthe framework 1 by brackets 22 secured to the side walls of the conveyorand to the beams 7 and 8.

Mounted within the framework lupon pairs of flexible supports 74, 75,7:6, and 77 is an inclined oscillatingscreen assembly comprising aforward feed section F ex-* tending into the interior of the cylinders13 and 23 through the opening 15 in the frontend of the cylinder 13, anda discharge section D pivotally connected as at front and side walls andopen at their-rearward ends. The trays are rearwardly inclined, asshown, and pivotally interconnected by a pair of links so thatoscillatory motion imparted to the screen section D by the eccentric82will be simultaneously transmitted to the-screen section F.

Patented Jan. 29, 1963 secured is entrained at its'top' and to shafts 61provided. and driven by a sprocket chain 63 entrained thereover and overthe sprocket wheel 65- For convenience in feeding berries to the forwardscreen section F, I provide a rack 95 swingably attached as at 96 to thetop end of a pair of posts 97 mounted upon the outer end of supportingarms 93 secured to and extending forwardly from the framework 1.

From the foregoing, the operation of my invention will be readilyunderstood. With the feed and discharge screen sections F and D,rotating screen cylinder 23, conveyor 21 and blower fan 19 all inoperation by their respective motors and drive connections, a tray offrozen berries is placed upwardly against the underside of the rack 95when the rack is in a horizontal position. The tray and rack are thenswung upwardly into the position shown in FIGURE 1 where the rack willcome to rest against a limit stop 99. in approaching this position theberries will spill onto the feed section F and partake of the vibratory,gyratory and oscillatory motion imparted to it as aforesaid. And suchmotion will cause the berries to disseminate over the feed section andforeign matter to be shaken from them as they gravitate into therearwardly inclined rotating screen cylinder 23 where they are subjectedto further cleaning by the rolling and tumbling action imparted to themand also by the air stream coming from the blower fan 19. Foreign mattershaken from the berricsis picked up by the air stream and blown outthrough the open end of the cylinder 23 and that which sifts through thewalls of the screen cylinder is blown out through the openings 32 in thebottom wall of the cylinder 13. From the screen cylinder the berriesgravitate through the opening 26 in the end wall 16 of the cylinder 13and onto the conveyor 21 from the top end of which they are depositedonto the discharge screen section D to partake of its vibratory,gyratory, and oscillatory motion as they gravitate out through the openend of said section and into proper containers or the like in athoroughly cleaned and unharmed condition. It is to be noted that thereare no bat-lies or any other obstructions which the berries mightimpinge against, nor any whipping air turbulence to damage the berriesas they travel through the apparatus.

While I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my invention, 1 amaware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves toothers skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Having thus described my invention what I claim as newand desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for cleaning foreign. matter from the exterior surfaces ofberries and the like, comprising in combination a framework having aforward end and a rearward end, an imperforate cylindrical housingfixedly mounted within the framework at the forward end thereof andrearwardly inclined relative thereto, said housing having a front walland a rear wall and an opening in the front wall and a first and secondopening in said rear wall in the bottom portion thereof, a reticulatedopen ended cylinder of uniform diameter throughout itslength rotatablymounted Within said housing in concentric spaced relation thereto, airpressure generating means in open communication through said firstopening in the rear wall of said fixed housing with the interior thereofand with the interior of said reticulated cylinder, motor meansoperatively connected to said reticulated cylinder for rotating thesame, a rearwardly inclined resiliently supported reticulated feed trayat the forward end of said framework extending through the opening insaid front wall of said housing and into the forward end of saidreticulated cylinder, a rearwardly inclined reticulated discharge trayresiliently supported within said framework at the rearward end thereof,means interconnecting said feed tray and said discharge tray, motordriven eccentric means mounted within said framework and connected tosaid discharge tray for imparting oscillatory motion simultaneously toboth of said trays, andconveyor means having a top end and a bottom endcommunicating at its bottom end with the interior of said reticulatedcylinder and the interior of said fixed housing through said secondopening in the rear wall thereof to receive berries gravitated from saidreticulated cylinder and adapted at its top end to discharge the berriesonto said discharge tray, whereby the berries will gravitate while invibratory, gyratory, and oscillatory motion from the feed tray into saidrotatable reticulated cylinder and be subjected therein to rolling andtumbling motion in an air stream from said air pressure generating meansand to gravitate from said cylinder onto said conveyor and from theconveyor onto the discharge tray and be subjected to a second stage ofvibratory, gyratory, and oscillatory motion as they gravitate toward thedischarge end of said discharge tray.

2. Apparatus for cleaning foreign matter from the exterior surfaces ofberries and the like, comprising in combination a framework having aforward end and a rearward end, an imperforate cylindrical housing ofuniform diameter throughout its length fixedly mounted within theframework at the forward end thereof and rearwardly inclined relativethereto, said housing having a front wall and a rear wall and an openingin the front wall and a first and second opening in said rear wall inthe bottom portion thereof, said housing having openings in thecylindrical Wall thereof, power driven belts extending through certainof said openings, a reticulated cylinder of uniform diameter throughoutits length open at both of its ends and rotatably suspended within saidcylindrical housing by said belts, rollers carried by said frameworkextending through other of said openings in the cylindrical wall of saidhousing and at all times in rolling contact with said reticulatedcylinder, air pressure generating means in open communication throughsaid first opening in the rear wall of said fixed housing with theinterior thereof and with the interior of said reticulated cylinder, arearwardly inclined resiliently supported reticulated feed tray at theforward end of said framework extending through the opening in saidfront Wall of said housing and into the forward end of said reticulatedcylinder, a rearwardly inclined reticulated discharge tray resilientlysupported within said framework at the rearward end thereof, meansinterconnecting said feed tray and said discharge tray, motor driveneccentric means mounted within said framework and connected to saiddischarge tray for imparting oscillatory motion simultaneously to bothof said trays, and conveyor means having a top end and a bottom endcommunicating at its bottom end with the interior of said reticulatedcylinder and the interior of said fixed housing through said sec ondopening in the rear wall thereof to receive berries gravitated from saidreticulated cylinder and adapted at its top end to discharge the berriesonto said discharge tray, whereby the berries will gravitate while invibratory, gyratory, and oscillatory motion from the feed tray into saidrotatable reticulated cylinder and be subjected therein to rolling andtumbling motion in an air streamfrorn said air pressure generating meansand. togravitate from said cylinder. onto said conveyor and from theconveyor onto the discharge-tray and be subjected to a second stage ofvibratory, gyratory, and oscillatory motion as they. gravitate towardthe discharge end of said discharge tray.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,052,697 Thompson Feb. 11, 1913 1,070,304 Thompson Aug. 12, 19131,356,049 Dibert Oct. 19, 1920 1,964,429 Eberts June 26, 1934 2,079,278Bristow May 4, 1937 2,222,139 Clark Nov. 19, 1940 2,425,984 BlackmanAug. 19, 1947

1. APPARATUS FOR CLEANING FOREIGN MATTER FROM THE EXTERIOR SURFACES OFBERRIES AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A FRAMEWORK HAVING AFORWARD END AND A REARWARD END, AN IMPERFORATE CYLINDRICAL HOUSINGFIXEDLY MOUNTED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK AT THE FORWARD END THEREOF ANDREARWARDLY INCLINED RELATIVE THERETO, SAID HOUSING HAVING A FRONT WALLAND A REAR WALL AND AN OPENING IN THE FRONT WALL AND A FIRST AND SECONDOPENING IN SAID REAR WALL IN THE BOTTOM PORTION THEREOF, A RETICULATEDOPEN ENDED CYLINDER OF UNIFORM DIAMETER THROUGHOUT ITS LENGTH ROTATABLYMOUNTED WITHIN SAID HOUSING IN CONCENTRIC SPACED RELATION THERETO, AIRPRESSURE GENERATING MEANS IN OPEN COMMUNICATION THROUGH SAID FIRSTOPENING IN THE REAR WALL OF SAID FIXED HOUSING WITH THE INTERIOR THEREOFAND WITH THE INTERIOR OF SAID RETICULATED CYLINDER, MOTOR MEANSOPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID RETICULATED CYLINDER FOR ROTATING THESAME, A REARWARDLY INCLINED RESILIENTLY SUPPORTED RETICULATED FEED TRAYAT THE FORWARD END OF SAID FRAMEWORK EXTENDING THROUGH THE OPENING INSAID FRONT WALL OF SAID HOUSING AND INTO THE FORWARD END OF SAIDRETICULATED CYLINDER, A REARWARDLY INCLINED RETICULATED DISCHARGE TRAYRESILIENTLY SUPPORTED WITHIN SAID FRAMEWORK AT THE REARWARD END THEREOF,MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID FEED TRAY AND SAID DISCHARGE TRAY, MOTORDRIVEN ECCENTRIC MEANS MOUNTED WITHIN SAID FRAMEWORK AND CONNECTED TOSAID DISCHARGE TRAY FOR IMPARTING OSCILLATORY MOTION SIMULTANEOUSLY TOBOTH OF SAID TRAYS, AND CONVEYOR MEANS HAVING A TOP END AND A BOTTOM ENDCOMMUNICATING AT ITS BOTTOM END WITH THE INTERIOR OF SAID RETICULATEDCYLINDER AND THE INTERIOR OF SAID FIXED HOUSING THROUGH SAID SECONDOPENING IN THE REAR WALL THEREOF TO RECEIVE BERRIES GRAVITATED FROM SAIDRETICULATED CYLINDER AND ADAPTED AT ITS TOP END TO DISCHARGE THE BERRIESONTO SAID DISCHARGE TRAY, WHEREBY THE BERRIES WILL GRAVITATE WHILE INVIBRATORY, GYRATORY, AND OSCILLATORY MOTION FROM THE FEED TRAY INTO SAIDROTATABLE RETICULATED CYLINDER AND BE SUBJECTED THEREIN TO ROLLING ANDTUMBLING MOTION IN AN AIR STREAM FROM SAID AIR PRESSURE GENERATING MEANSAND TO GRAVITATE FROM SAID CYLINDER ONTO SAID CONVEYOR AND FROM THECONVEYOR ONTO THE DISCHARGE TRAY AND BE SUBJECTED TO A SECOND STAGE OFVIBRATORY, GYRATORY, AND OSCILLATORY MOTION AS THEY GRAVITATE TOWARD THEDISCHARGE END OF SAID DISCHARGE TRAY.